UVM Larner College asks Vermont to back bid for NCI cancer-center designation

Dean Rick Page of the Larner College of Medicine and leaders of the UVM Cancer Center told the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on March 12 they are seeking state funding and a clear, multi‑year commitment to bolster a planned National Cancer Institute core grant application in fall 2026.

Page told senators that Vermont previously had an NCI‑designated cancer center until February 2008 and that “we need to demonstrate that our state is committed to this, to be taken seriously in terms of receiving designation.” He said the college is preparing a submission for the core grant next fall and asked for state support to make the application credible.

The request comes after the college installed permanent leadership and recruited an experienced cancer‑center director, Randy Holcomb, from Hawaii. Holcomb and others described recent progress in research, education, community outreach and clinical care, and said a state commitment would strengthen the application and the center’s ability to expand services across Vermont.

Why it matters: A National Cancer Institute designation typically brings increased research funding, clinical trials and workforce development, which the presenters argued would directly affect patients and primary‑care clinicians statewide. Page said NCI designation is “a driver of the economy, supporting good jobs and bringing substantial economic benefit” while also improving care for patients in all 14 counties.

Research and outreach highlights presented to the committee included university‑led studies into Vermont’s particularly high melanoma rates, recruiting investigators studying the gut microbiome’s effect on cancer treatment response, and a researcher developing a bacteria‑based approach intended to help lung‑cancer detection in rural areas where low‑dose CT screening is scarce.

Education and workforce efforts described included the “Careers in Cancer” program for high‑school students, expansion of a mobile outreach “bio‑mobile” van equipped with a fluorescent microscope and gel electrophoresis for rural visits, and plans to expand hematology‑oncology fellowship rotations through rural treatment sites to build rural oncology capacity. Clinical‑support initiatives cited included expanded lung‑cancer screening (a reported 35 percent increase over three years), nutritional consultative support being piloted in Bennington, and community screening work that helped screen 35 Nepali‑speaking women for breast cancer.

Presenters gave a funding history and request context: last year they said they were requesting $5,000,000 over five years; this year they asked for a smaller immediate commitment (presenters described a current request of $1,000,000 and an ongoing annual commitment) to demonstrate the state’s seriousness ahead of the fall 2026 submission.

Committee reaction and next steps: Senators thanked presenters and noted the request will be relevant to upcoming legislation on cancer screening and related health matters. Presenters said they would be available for follow‑up and legislative questions as the committee develops its bill and considers funding decisions.

Ending: Larner College leaders framed the request as both a clinical and economic investment for Vermont — a step they said would expand local research, trials and specialist resources while supporting primary‑care clinicians across rural counties. The presenters asked that the committee consider including state support in its funding plans ahead of the college’s planned NCI core grant submission in fall 2026.